Communications DirectorThe Schott Foundation for Public Education

July 26, 2016

The Schott Foundation for Public Education is a national foundation whose mission is to develop and strengthen a broad-based and representative movement to achieve fully resourced, quality preK-12 public education, giving every child an opportunity to learn. The Schott Foundation’s core belief is that only a grassroots movement can lead to systemic change in the disparities poor children and children of color face in our country’s schools. In helping to build this movement, Schott recognizes its pivotal role as both funder and advocate in the social justice arena.

The Schott Foundation seeks an experienced communications professional to play a crucial role in expanding the foundation’s reach and influence through various communication platforms. Applicants should have strong writing experience, including experience writing for the media; experience with social media strategy; and a firm commitment to social justice. Applicants should be self-driven, accountable to goals, have energy and enthusiasm for innovation, and an interest in social change issues and advocacy.

The Communications Director will also lead communication efforts of the Education Justice Network (EJN). EJN, of which the Schott Foundation is a member, is a collaboration of six national nonprofits engaged in policy development, research and advocacy and united to promote educational equity and opportunity for students of color and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. EJN seeks to expand its reach through various communication efforts, including social media, blog posts, and newsletters.

EJN consists of:

Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) at Brown University

National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the University of Colorado, Boulder

Research for Action (RFA)

The Schott Foundation for Public Education

The Southern Education Foundation (SEF)

The Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) at Stanford University

2. Communications Workgroup: Convene and facilitate a regular meeting of the Communications Workgroup, comprised of communications staff from each EJN member organization, to gain strong, ongoing substantive knowledge of projects and publications, creating opportunities for:

Developing strategic joint communications projects/products that amplify the ongoing work of member organizations

Creating a shared event/editorial calendar as a mechanism to develop strategic opportunities

Develop an updated a centralized media contact list

3. Publications: Support the writing and editing of op-eds, blogs, report summaries, etc. and provide assistance with media placement in local, national and mainstream and progressive media outlets.

4. Communication Tools: Work closely with the foundation communications team and consultants to develop infographics and other design projects to amply the work of the network.

5. Contacts Management: Build and manage the EJN e-mail list.

6. Evaluation: Lead in the assessment of communication impacts, utilizing programs such as Google Analytics to document the reach of the network.

7. Social Media: Support members and grassroots partners through development and implementation of social media strategies for projects, organizational positioning, training, and capacity building.

8. Media Relations: Write press releases, maintain press clip files, and conduct outreach and relationship development with bloggers and other media, such as journalists, to support coverage of EJN news.

9. Research: Complete various research projects and data analysis as required for communications projects.